Using Earlier Versions of Word in a Word 97 World

Word 97 has been available for some time now, and many individuals and companies are upgrading to this version. It is not unusual, however, for other people to delay upgrading for financial, personal, or other reasons. If you find yourself in this situation, work cannot stop just because you cannot upgrade at the current time. So how do you work with Word 97 files in an earlier version of Word?

Basically, you have a couple of options. The first option puts the burden on the Word 97 users around you, namely you require them to save their files in an earlier version of Word. This can be unreasonable, as those users could get tired of your requirements fairly quickly. (This could be a death-knell for a freelancer working with a company that has already upgraded to Word 97.)

The other option is to get a file converter that will allow you to open Word 97 files in earlier versions of Word. Microsoft makes such a converter available, both for Word 95 and Word 6. If you are interested in downloading the converter, you can do so at http://www.microsoft.com/word/freestuff/converters/wrd97cnv.htm.

Understand that following the converter route can present other problems, however. Not all the features in Word 97 are available to earlier versions of Word. This means that you may lose parts of the file which the Word 97 users consider indispensable. You should test a few files first to make sure the converter meets your needs. If it does not, then you have no option but to bite the bullet and upgrade. (Full details on what is not supported when converting Word 97 files backwards are contained at the Web site mentioned earlier in this tip.)